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1/23/11

This has been a growing week for me, rather a "growing pains" week, my tree was pruned. Thank you God, I needed it.

It was no matter of luck or fate that I would start reading C.S. Lewis' Narnia series during the second week of potty training, the coldest week in January, and the week of a good over due confession.

Humility stings...I received a good heaping full this past week.

I now realize I am miserable at offering up inconveniences and can be so horribly irritable. Thank you potty training and thank you Lord for giving Christiana the bladder the size of a beetle so as to show me this lesson.

My husband also very kindly pointed out to me one of my faults, as all good husband should do if they are half serious at getting their spouses to Heaven. Afterward, I wanted to pull an ostrich and sink my head into the sand so no one could see me, but thank you Lord for giving me such an authentic and pure soul in my husband.

Some days, mostly during January through March, I wonder why God put me here in Kansas. The hibernation leaves lots of room for reading and thinking. I'm forced to do one of two things in the cold: curse and swear or be silent. This year, I'm finally somewhat silent.

God has a brilliant way of using other human instruments or life circumstances to gently show us where our pride blinded us. I realized how weak I am and how much I need Him.

In the book, A Horse and His Boy, Bree the horse fails miserably when he had a chance for glory and to save a girl in distress. Upon sulking and wanting to never show his face again, a wise garden hermit tells him,

"You are not quite the great horse you have come to think...it doesn't follow that you will be anyone very special in Narnia. But as long as you know you're nobody very special,you'll be a very decent sort of Horse, on the whole..."

I laughed when I read this because it stood out so poingnantly to me and this past week.

Not sure why our human nature leaves us with the tendancy to build ourselves up to be more important, wise, or virtuous than what we really are, but we do, and I especially do.

The Narnia books give such a beautiful reflection and perspective of how faithful God is, with me in my darkest trials, whose love for me drives him to sacrifice anything and everything to save my soul. That makes me want to try harder for him, rely more on him, struggle for love of him.

1/19/11

Saturday night, I mildly informed the babysitter the kids could have cranberry juice deluded with water if they needed a drink. Anna looked at me and said...cranberry juice is a diuretic...Pudding will have to go every 10 minutes.

I began to stare off into the distance...I had been giving her a diuretic drink the week I started to potty train her. Really? I won the "Dumbest Mom Move Ever" award. And all this time I was weeping over so much urine while the whole time being the instigator to her teeny little bladder going bazirk.

1/14/11

I'm potty training. Ha....that came out wrong, but actually, now that I think about it, is so right. I'm am potty training. I have a great deal to learn, but mostly want to sit in a corner and cry. I didn't realize my fury and frustration could reach such levels. And then,"Surprise self, no virtue found here." Ha, another reason to pout ;).

The process started out haphazard in the first place when she began to tell me when she had to go right before leaving for Christmas vacation. So we kinda did some testing out for three weeks.

Now we are in underwear...So far, my hands have been in urine one too many times the past three days and my floor, the toilet, the laundry and Heaven knows what else, has had a urine bath as well. Just as I think she is doing good, let down, over and over.

I do believe there is an end to this apparent madness, it's just believing that in the moment you realize you are slipping on a wet floor...and then realize it's no water spill, you have it on your shoes and you just walked all over your kitchen floor that has only been clean for 30 minutes. grit.

Sigh. Deep breath....big picture. This is my training too...moments for grace and ONLY by the grace of God will I make them so because I'm quite horrible at it.

Meanwhile...I'm going to meditate on the cuteness of her little piano legs and remind myself she won't be this miniature for long and battle it out.

1/13/11

It's funny to see the all the blog posts go in waves...."Christmas" "Santa Came" "Merry Christmas"....and then a week later "Snowed In", "Snow Day". Ha it's what my own blog looks like.

Anyways...yesterday it was 3 degrees outside. I tend to hibernate in the winter and I don't get out of my house except to get the mail...maybe. But I resisted the urge to complain.Going on my fourth year in Kansas, I've embraced (ok, maybe embraced isn't the best word choice here)...excepted the fact that every winter it gets cold, it snows, it stays cold...it's pretty routine and part of the drill. Life goes on and Spring eventually comes. Today it will be a blazing 34 degrees...heck, maybe we'll grill out ; )

Meanwhile, I'm snuggled in with my two and three feet tall walking entertainments pieces and very content.

So how do we spend our days? Two essential winter staples here: RICE AND BOOKS

Books...Luckily we made a trip to the Library and checked out quite a collection of books and have been reading them with glee. Our favorite (my favorite) seems to be Jan Bret's The Mitten.

We have a card stock mitten with all the animals from the book and they each take turns putting them inside. I love it watching them love to put them in with pride when their turn comes up.

Pudding's favorite is, Mama Where Are You?, maybe because she can relate with the question...I hear her upstairs or in the basement yelling, "Mommy, a are you?" on an hourly basis.

Rice...I accidentally discovered this activity. We've sorted beans before and I think I was out one day so I grabbed rice instead. Instant success.

This is them playing with "Dinner Rice". For some reason, when I filled their trays with the rice, Nicholas informed me I was using "dinner rice" and so now, Christiana asks daily, "A pay dinna yice mom?" translated.."Can I play with the dinner rice mom?"

Playing with rice goes on for HOURS. I'm fascinated that day after day the keep going back to it, run their trains through it, ask for spoons and cups to fill and dump. I'm sure that's why it is a Montessori type learning and it is great for their motor skills.

About Me

The kitchen in my home, is the place where we all gather to share meals, do crafts and homework, listen to lively debates and conversation and mostly just share life. Here are the Niewald family stories, recipes of the meals that bring us together, and happenings in the middle of the rural Midwest. I tend to see the glass half full, but my kids keep it even, am usually sentimental, and I love life simple. May I live it all for God.